PROVIDENCE
-- In the final game of yesterday's quintuple-header at Rhode Island College, St. Raphael made an honest man of coach Roger Forand.
A few weeks ago, Forand said that his Saints could be one of the toughest number-eight seeds in quite some time. Last night, his team knocked top-seeded North Kingstown out of the playoffs in a 52-46 upset.
Down 46-42 with 2:10 to play after a 3-pointer by Skippers senior Sarah Andreozzi, SRA ran the table with a 10-0 run to close the game. The run was started with a short shot by Ashley Tomkiewicz set up by Nicole Marques. A 3-pointer by sophomore Leah Rich from the top of the circle gave the Saints the lead.
Marques hit the front end of a 1-and-1 with 12.9 seconds left to put the game out of NK's reach and the Skippers lost for only the second time this season.
Sophomore Leanne Robinson led St. Raphael with 19 points, while Tomkiewicz recorded 10. The Skippers had three players in double figures -- Kasey Devine (15 points), Erica Kirwan (13 points) and Andreozzi (11 points).
"We were expected to lose by 15 to 17," Forand said. "We were loose and we kept attacking. We have young talent, and they say when you're young you don't know any better. Well, we don't know any better."
Journal photo/Kris Craig QUICK, IT'S GETTING AWAY: Cumberland's Ashley Lambert looks back for the basketball after it got loose in a collision between one of her teammates and Ponaganset's Debbie Nelson, top left, during yesterday's quarterfinal game.
St. Raphael will meet number-four La Salle in the second semifinal Wednesday night. The Rams upended I-South rival and five-seed East Greenwich, 68-59.
While guards Jessica Paulson and Jamie Angell combined for 52 points, it was the rebounding and solid play of others, especially Caitlin Feeney, that helped La Salle move on.
After a first half in which it seemed they never missed, the Avengers held a 30-26 lead, and continued to lead until 5:18 remained in the game, when Angell hit a runner in the lane that put the Rams ahead for good, 54-53.
"It was important for us to weather the (first-half) storm," La Salle coach Fred Saunders said. "In the playoffs, every team is going to make a run. It wasn't easy for us; I'm extremely proud of these kids today."
Amy Tarbell led the Avengers with 19 points.
The first semifinal will be third-seeded Cumberland against second-seeded Classical.
The Clippers defeated defending state champion Ponaganset for the third time this season in their 39-34 win, and they did it without a player scoring in double figures. Juniors Ashley Lambert and Kerri Sullivan each scored nine points.
It looked as though the game might be headed for overtime until a putback by Sullivan gave the Clippers a three-point lead with 28 seconds to go.
Classical used good inside play and strong defense to overcome the shooting of Bay View, 40-36. This game also was up in the air until the closing minutes, when junior guard Joanna Skiba hit a clutch 3-pointer and two free throws to seal the win.
Skiba finished with 17 points, while Kerri Augenstein and Meredith McGair each had 14 for the Bengals.
• In the second Division III quarterfinal, Burrillville earned a semifinal date with Central with a 47-29 win against Davies. Up by five at the half, the Broncos held the Patriots scoreless for the first 4:18 of the second and never looked back.
Captain Amy Hauser scored 12 and freshman Emily Duquette 11 for Burrillville, while Elsa Pina paced Davies with 11 points.
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